2000 Alpine Tour I: Italian Alps (includes Locarno & Milan)

PREFACE

Mike and Irma McLean took this trip with us. Irma had said she always wanted to see the beautiful Alps and when I showed her this tour by Grand Circle Travel she signed up.

The price was extremely reasonable and we could add another week to the three week tour by taking a flight home one week later. Hence we could add Southern Germany to the agenda, To reduce the cost for parking, we stayed at the Days Inn two nights (one before the trip and one after) and booked two rooms. This Days Inn said would allow us free parking for four weeks.

When Annette and I laid out our suitcases on the bed for loading, the cats knew something was up. I think they sensed that we were going somewhere without them and they started getting antsy. Shadow climbed into one of the suitcases as if to say she wanted to go along.

June 22, Thursday

The Days Inn complimentary shuttle took us to the Minneapolis airport for the Northwest 12:50 pm flight to Detroit, Arrival time 3:42 pm. The flight to the Milano Malpensa departed at 5:20 pm.

June 23, Friday

Our DC 10 took us 8 hours and 20 minutes so we arrived at 7:40 am. Grand Circle had arranged to have a representative just outside customs to escort us to our accommodations 50 miles away in Stresa, Italy,

The Maggiore of the tourist brochures begins at STRESA, whose popularity as a resort began in 1906, when the Simplon Tunnel (right) opened, the final link in a chain of railways connecting Lake Geneva to Milan, and thus northern Europe to the Mediterranean. International trains, including the Orient Express, were routed through Stresa, which quickly became a holiday retreat for Europe's high society.

The Hotel Astoria Stresa (right) was located along Lake Maggiore.

From here we had a wonderful view of the lake and islands.

Refreshing welcome drinks were served in the lounge.

After dinner we checked out the heated pool and other amenities,

June 24, Saturday

Our tour director Antonio , who came from Croatia, led our group on a morning walking tour along the Stresa waterfront.

It was a beautiful walking area.

Fred checked out the unusual exotic trees.

We stopped at an ice cream stand for a snack. Here, Antonio gave assistance to Irma.

Mike and Irma enjoyed their pizza while sitting on a park bench.

We toured a wine and cheese cellar called LaCambusa and had snacks. We were given presentation about olive oil production.

The best part was the wine tasting.

Tony escorted us on an included boat cruise to Borromean Islands which were owned by the Borromeo Family since the 15th century.

One of the most famous of the family members was Carlo Borromeo (right), a nephew of Pope Pius IV, who was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church during the Counter Reformation. His mother was a Medici. We will learn much more about him later in Milan.

The first of the Borromean Islands we visited was the Isola dei Pescatori, home to a quaint and picturesque fishing village and parish church. Narrow winding streets were enhanced by flowers everywhere.

Second on our boat tour was Isola Bella This island is entirely occupied by the Palazzo Borromeo ... and its Italianate Garden

Once on the island we walked through the lovely garden and admired the strutting peacocks.

Fred found much to tape with his camcorder.

We approached the 17th century palace, where the B family still lives. Tony led us into this palace where Mussolini and Mac Donald of England held the Stresa Conference of 1935. Very elaborate furnishings. Napoleon and Josephine visited here in the early 1800s. Mike and Irma also were among the distinguished guest.

June 25, Sunday

Early in the morning I rose to take a videotape of the sunrise over the Lake. We had a nice full breakfast at the hotel and set about for a full day optional tour that entailed a lakeside road bus ride to Cannobio. See my written-in red arrows on the map. Later after our many stops en route to Location, we will return by way of an observation train ride.

First part of trip (top of map) we travelled through Bevano, Pallanza and Intra.

We stopped at Ghiffa for a tour of the Museo dell’ Arte dei Capelli. The Hat Museum in Ghiffa is situated in rooms that make up part of the former hat factory of G. Panizza & Co., a long established and well known local industry, founded in 1881 which remained operative for exactly one hundred years.

Old machinery and handicraft tools used in the production of the hat felt, form one of the principal attractions of the museum, an important historical heritage, given that today’s decline in the sale of men’s hats has made the production of such material almost obsolete.

Continuing on along the lake shore we came upon yet another Borromean Island, this one called Cannero. It was a defense used by the Borromeos against the Swiss raids in this eastern region of Lago Maggiore. The principal part of the fortress, that being the part more to the east, is still a massive wall of stone, rising directly from the surface of the water,

We visited a quaint church at Cannobio.Il Sanctuario della SS Pieta. This church commemorates the events of 1522, when a painting of the Virgin Mary was believed to have bled. With its open dome it stands by the lakeside.

The famous painting to the right.

After the church visit we spent some time at an open market.

For lunch we ate at the nearby Il Portico. Fred ordered spaghetti while the others settled for salads.

Nice restaurant with old world charm... Annette on right.

As our bus worked it way through Locarno, we were able to visit some important sites.

The first was Chiesa San Francesco which was founded by the Franciscans shortly after the death of St. Francis of Assisi in the 13th century.

The second site was the Catetelo Viscounteo which was associated with a futile meeting in 1925 by England, France and Italy to appease Germany after World War I. The inter-war hopes for peace were symbolized by the “spirit of Locarno.”

In Locarno we were given free time to explore around a nice park-like area until the departure time for the train.

For our return trip to Stresa we were scheduled to return on the Centrovalli train. Tony led us down into an underground depot. An escalator took us down to the loading platform. Before long our modern train appeared and we settled down in our reserved cars.

The Centrovalli Railway took us through the scenic countryside past deep gorges, alpine meadows, wooded areas and vineyards. En Route our GCT guide passed out complimentary drinks.

We had traveled from the upper right-hand side of the map here to the upper left side. At Domodossola we transferred from the train to our waiting tour bus. After a short drive we were back to the hotel.

June 26, Monday


We chose to take another option ($35)program to Lake Orta. This tour turned out to be an excellent one.

Our tour bus took us to Omegna on the lake where we boarded an open craft for a 45 minute ride on the tranquil Lake Orta.

Our GCT group consisted of friendly sociable travelers. Our guide Leila (in black) proved to be very helpful.

Fred enjoyed being at sea, though he thought the flow of the water seemed strange. Oddly enough, Lago d’Orta does not send its water south as one would expect, but the water heads north towards the Alps.

On the map to the right, we had started at the top and were headed around the lake to Orta San Giulio.

We disembarked at the town of Orta by the Palazzo della Comunita for exploration time. The main attraction was the Church San Giulio up a long cobble-stone walkway.

Before leaving the town, we treated ourselves to delicious gelato, a traditional ice-cream parfait, and sat down in an open air cafe on the square.

The group re-boarded our boat for the small island of San Julio with its Benedictine 14th century church. On the photo to the right you can see the church we had just visited in the center top. On the island below the Benedictine complex dominates the landscape.

To see the Basilica required some uphill walking. Irma and Mike are on the left side in the photo.

The Benedictine nuns on the island (only people who live here) have sworn a vow of silence.

Mission accomplished, we boarded our boat and headed for Pella.

The mountainous region of the Mottarone was challenging for our driver Piepo, especially the winding roads around Lisa.

For dinner tonight at the Hotel Astoria we had tasty salmon trout.

After dinner Tony presented a Discovery Series topic entitled “Profiles of Italy.”


June 27, Tuesday

We left early in the morning for our optional ($39) tour to Milan (Milano). We passed by Rocca Borromeo on the way. This monument is one of the very few perfectly preserved medieval fortresses in Italy, situated in a domineering, strategic position over the southern part of Lake Maggiore.

The highway provided us easy access to the city.

One of the first sites we reached in Milan was the RaceTrack where we encountered this huge horse monument, a creation of Leonardo il Cavallo. He constructed this 24 foot high bronze sculpture, after being commissioned by the American people in 1999, as a gift to the people of Milan. The donation to Milan was the culmination of a dream of the late Charles Dent, an American pilot.

I was impress with the Castello Sforzesco, a castle in Milan, Italy, that used to be the seat and residence of the ruling family of Milan and now houses several of the city's museums and art collections.

The Rondanini Pieta (1552-1564) is in the museum of the Sforza Castle in Milan. Michael Angelo was working on this sculpture when he was 90 years old and it was his last masterpiece.

After leaving the Castle we passed by the Arco With the fortifications for Castello Sforzesco destroyed in 1801 under Napoleon's instructions, a large space was created for the piazza Sempione but a monumental construction was also required to mark the entrance to the city. The arch was begun in 1807 in honor of Napoleon and only finished in 1838 when it became a symbol of the Peace of 1815 and the defeat of Napoleon.

Our real goal was the Cimitero Monumentale (cemetery of monuments). The main entrance is to the right.

We walked though what was really an outdoor sculpture museum of 19th century art.

Some of the markers were massive, such as this one for Toscanini.

We filed back into the bus for a short trip to the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuelle which connected the Plaza La Scalia with the Duomo (lower right on map).

Entrance to the Galleria Galleria Vittorio Emmanuelle is one of the most beautiful covered galleries in Europe. Began in 1865, it was the first of its kind to make use of an iron and glass structure.

Inside the Galleria. In 1867, Giuseppe Mengoni, the architect, fell to his death from the heights of the glass dome while scrutinizing decorative details two days before King Vittorio Emmanuelle led the opening ceremony

On the other side of the Galleria was the magnificent Duomo. It was built to accommodate 40,000. Begun in 1386 and completed in 1897. This architectural marvel of white marble is crowned with ornate belfries, elaborate gables, 2,245 delightful statues and 96 gargoyles.

A dress code requirement of no short pants or sleeveless blouses was strictly enforced. Oriental salespersons took advantage of the situation and sold shawls at the entrances of the cathedral. They did a booming business. Annette did not need her shoulders covered, but she purchased one of the beautiful shawls anyway.

Once inside the structure we walked up to the altar, under which is buried Charles Borromeo (of the islands in Stresa). The stained glass windows were outstanding.

The four of us then walked back through the Galleria to reach the La Scala Plaza. A larger than life of Leonardo da Vinci was situated on a pedestal in the center of the square. On the other side was the famous La Scala Opera House.

Our local Italian guide led us through the museum which housed the actual costumes used by famous artists. The best part was seeing the inside of the theatre itself .

We had seen much in Milano and now it was time for the trip back to Stresa. Our bus took us along winding (but scenic) roads, We made a stop at Arona to see the imposing statue of Charles Borromeo, the 16th century benefactor of the area. When it was completed in 1698, it was the largest bronze standing statue in the world, second only to the Statue of Liberty. The Church of St. Charles here was in the neoclassical style.










June 28, Wednesday

Today we decided to explore on our own by using the ferry system that covers the region.

Bright and early, we lined up at the ferry terminal.













This map shows the portion we will cover in pink.

The first stop that we left the boat was at Isola Madre.

An incoming ferry took us to our next stopping place, Pallanza. The charming village was ideal for a lunch stop and a few laughs. The young waitress tripped and spilled a tray loaded with beer on our table. She came back with new bottles, but tipped mine over as she unloaded her tray. She couldn’t speak any English. We felt so sorry for her.

Irma and Mike decided to call it a day and took a return ferry while Annette and Fred continued on to Villa Taranto. We were glad that we visited here because it was a garden paradise.

We walked along a paved path that took us from one display of flowers to another -- and they were enhanced by berns and fountains. We could have stayed here forever, but needed to catch the last ferry back to our hotel in Stresa.

We arrived back in Stresa in time to join Irma and Mike for a bus trip up into the mountains for a special “Farewell to Italy” home-hosted dinner with a local family. Since it was Fred’s birthday, Tony presented Fred with a bottle of wine. Nice evening with entertainment and a chance to tour the family farm. We left with good feelings about Italy.











GO ON TO ALPINE TOUR PART II SWISS ALPS